The Musician, the Singer and her lover
by Arelya-Andaria
Summary: E/C/R - Eurydice and Orpheus AU, with a twist. Set in Ancient Greece, with Raoul as Lykos, Erik as Orpheus, and Christine as Eurydice. One-shot.


They were 16.

The sun was beating hard over their heads. It was summer. A time for gently settling down in the grass, watching the shapes of the clouds and how they moved in the deep blue sky.

"What are you doing, Orpheus?" he asked, laughing.

Lykos was the son of one of the wealthiest citizen in the city, and as such, he could do as he pleased, most of the time.

And today was such of those times. He'd run out of the house as soon as he'd been able to, and joined his favorite friend, Orpheus. Since he'd been burned in a terrible fire which had cost the life of his mother and father, he'd been shunned by the community. His face had taken the brunt of the damage, and he now wore a leather mask to hide what could have been otherwise a very handsome face.

Lykos had not minded that, and remained his friend through and through.

What he loved best about him, though, was his music. Orpheus was gifted with the voice to make the gods cry, and with the fingers of Apollo himself. He could play anything, any instrument, and the sound would make the flowers bloom, the dry well fill anew, the birds quiet to hear him.

He was weaving a spell of magic when he began singing.

And he told stories, too, ones he'd known by his mother, before her untimely death. She'd been a great singer, too, always chosen to perform for the great festivities of Apollo.

Now, his gift was all he had left of her.

This morning, he'd been out in the fields, after the usual sheep-herding. Summer was the perfect season for them. They could spend the whole day together, not having a care in the world. And Orpheus would play the harp and the lyre and sing melodies that would both make and unmake his heart.

Sometimes, hidden in the bushes, they would play different games, and Lykos would kiss those delightful lips, ones where such a pretty sound was formed, as if somehow he could be filled with beauty from within.

But so far, nothing had worked, and he'd try again every chance he could. After all, practice made perfect, didn't it?

These were children's games, and children's loves.

They thought they were in love, and they were.

But in their world, such a love was encouraged only for a time, and after a while, they would both have to settle for someone more suited to their station. Lykos, to a nice, respectful lady from another noble house, and Orpheus, to another girl, who wouldn't care for his mask.

They were 21, and the time had come to make their goodbyes.

For the last time, they had gone to the woods together, locked in a last embrace, while Orpheus sang his last song in his lover's ears.

"I'm going to miss that so much."

"You don't have to. I can always come back and sing for you. Even if only as a servant."

"I wouldn't accept that."

"You would, if it meant I could come to your pallet afterwards."

His wicked smile, and his shining golden eyes, were always Lykos's undoing.

He bent down, to kiss him again, when a sound rang out in the woods.

"What was that?"

"What?"

"Hush… Can you hear that voice?"

It was a naiad's voice, a siren's voice, one that had enchanted Ulysses and made the ships wreck and sink. The most exquisite sound Orpheus had ever heard.

"She's a woman," Lykos whispered, his heart beating hard.

And indeed she was. A beautiful woman, with green, piercing eyes, and dark curls, flowing over her shoulders like a spring river.

She was singing softly to herself, part melancholy and part pure earthly joy, strolling through the trees.

Unable to prevent himself, Orpheus stood to greet her, his voice mangling with hers. She looked around, startled, but her soul reached out to his, and she smiled.

Then, her gaze turned to Lykos, and his heart missed a beat. Several beats, even.

His soul had found his match, too. He loved Orpheus, and right then, he knew he would love her too.

There was no other woman he'd ever consider marrying, in this life, as long as she was there, her wondrous voice in his ears.

When they stopped, looking deep in each other's eyes, Lykos wept.

Tears of joy.

They spent the full night together, and the next day too, living on berries and fresh water from the nearby spring. Only when his older brother Philippos came to see where he had gone, did they separate from each other, drunk on new love and music and art.

She was an orphan, promised to the gods, but Lykos pleaded his case to the nobles of the city, and his wish was granted. He would marry the woman of his dreams, and would keep his childhood best friend and lover by his side.

What could go wrong?

* * *

They were 22. It was to be a most joyous day. The wedding had gone perfectly well, and Eurydice was a bride of utmost gentleness, beauty and charisma.

They made a radiant, shining couple.

Only Orpheus stayed in the back, singing and playing softly, so as not to distract the guests too much from their lovely reception.

After the libations had been made, and the gods satisfied, they were to be wed.

And yet, when the priestess joined their hands and gave them the cup designed to unite them for eternity, thunder darkened the sky, and the wind rose.

Where blue sky had been, now there were only dark clouds and shivers.

A voice rang out, strong like an earthquake, like a tidal wave.

"She was not supposed to be a mortal's bride. The daughter of Apollo will go to meet her equal!"

The ominous voice faded, the echo of it still strong on the wind, when a sharp cry turned the attention of all towards the happy couple.

Eurydice had cried out, and fallen, bitten by a poisonous snake.

Slowly, her skin turned pale, and white, her lips palest pink, and soon, her voice disappeared. With a last, sorrow-filled look to Lykos, and to her beloved lover, Orpheus, she whispered:

"I love you."

The cries of Lykos, as he held his beloved bride, and the laments of Orpheus, as he watched the other part of his soul leave her sweet body to join the underworld, would have made even the hardest heart grieve.

Lykos was the first to rise.

"I will get her back. We will find her and bring her back."

"How?"

"With your music. We will go find Hades, and persuade him to give her back to us."

And so, despite the protests of his family, Lykos set out to retrieve his bride, accompanied by his dearest friend.

Together, they followed the ancient path to the old doorway, one they had only ever heard of in myths and songs. They climbed the long stairs down to the entrance of the Palace of Hades and Persephone, where the monster Cerberus was waiting for them.

As he'd planned, Orpheus started to sing, and with the power of his music, set the powerful sentry to sleep.

They entered the palace, and knelt in front of the King and Queen of the Underworld.

There, Orpheus sang as well, of their story, their love and their joys. He spoke of their hopes for the future, and how they had all shattered.

He sang so powerfully, his own tears fell down his cheeks, one ruined covered by leather, the other tan and handsome.

Tears of hate.

Tears of sorrow.

And yet there was hope.

The powerful gods were listening to his request, and were moved by the plea of the young man. They said:

"You will have a chance to retrieve her, and have a second chance. She will follow you both from the bottom of the underworld. You must leave and return to the land of the living, and then you will be together again. But, you must never look back, not until you're all three out of the stairs and the path, back into the light."

They both nodded, and set out to climb up the stairs.

Lykos was fidgeting. She was not following, was she? Just a peek, and then he'd know…

A song rang out again, urging him to look forward, and not look back. Orpheus was singing, his eyes closed, as he held Lykos's hand. Behind him, she followed, her sweet, small hand in his, and she rose her voice too, to guide them towards the surface.

Lykos had his eyes fixed onwards, the slow, gentle pressure of his lover's hand reminding him of the path they'd made and what had been accomplished.

Slowly, carefully, light began to appear, at the end of the path. But still he went on, one step at a time, and their voices were the only thing was prevented him from looking back.

Orpheus still had his eyes closed, complete trust in him, to lead him out, and her, as well.

He stepped into the light, and the air felt fresh and pure.

Another step, and here Orpheus was next to him, in the light.

A final step, and he looked back.

There she was. Even more beautiful than she had been, before.

She kissed them both, one by one, to thank them for the rescue, for the power of their love, and their music. She held their hands, as they embraced, both men who had nearly lost their love.

But music had helped them win.

And music, just as it had bound them when they'd met, would bind them again, for eternity.

The festivities started again, as they thanked their gods for keeping their promises. And for many, many years, music rang out from this little corner of the earth, and tales and songs of this story, of the musician, the singer and her lover would endure for many more millennia.

I hope you liked this little story :)


End file.
